Things to see and do Maroni

Pierre, a renowned Amazonian guide with a degree in biology and geology, will be delighted to show you around the Amazon rainforest. Hiking or canoeing, wildlife observation on Lake Petit Saut and the Mana estuary, discovery of the waterfalls and the Voltaire inselberg, "apéro-pêche" outings... and many other activities, always in a good mood! You'll find descriptions, prices and a calendar of outings on our website, which is a bit cluttered but very comprehensive!

This is the mythical place in Saint-Laurent where all convicts were unloaded on arrival from mainland France. After a medical examination, they were assigned to the various penitentiary centers in French Guiana. At the entrance to the camp, while waiting for the tour, you can enjoy a permanent photo exhibition retracing the history of the penal colony. Then, the guide, master of the keys, opens the doors to another world, and visitors are literally transported into this disturbing place. The most courageous will imagine themselves in the shoes of famous prisoners such as Papillon, Seznec or Dreyfus. It's a moving place, and the setting for Yves Boisset's L'Affaire Seznec (1993).

The beginnings. In 1644 - the year of Messire Charles Poncet's arrival in Cayenne - a few French survivors of a small colony established a year earlier were living on the banks of the Maroni. A first exploration of the river took place in 1820-1821, under the government of Baron de Laussat. This was followed by the mission of Lieutenant Carpentier in 1852. In his report of August 30, 1855, Carpentier wrote: "As for the Maroni, which borders the French and Dutch Guianas, it is far superior to the other Guiana rivers. The Amazon and Orinoco, alone, in this northern part of South America, outweigh it."

The lieutenant is enchanted by this region, and speaks highly of Sieur Kappler's establishment: "A fact that is happening at this establishment must attract the utmost attention of those interested in the colonization of these beautiful lands. About forty families from Friesland have settled in Kappler and have been cultivating and working the woods for over three years. When I left French Guiana a year ago, not a single sick person had yet been counted among them, yet they worked during the hottest hours of the day, without taking any precautions against the heat of the sun"

In 1852, Commissioner General Sarda-Garriga was asked to look for a more salubrious location for a penitentiary in French Guiana. His choice fell on the right bank of the Maroni, on the site of an ancient Galibi village where the Boni had settled. Between July 1852 and April 1853, work began on the penitentiary. But the departure of Sarda-Garriga put an end to the project. His successor showed no interest in the project, and it was not until Governor Baudin that the work was completed. Baudin arrived in French Guiana in November 1855 and took office as governor in February 1856. During these three months, he toured the Maroni, Mana, Sinnamary and Kourou rivers. He visited Kappler's establishment. His August 1856 report concluded: "I found some Europeans perfectly fed, housed cleanly and comfortably, in as good air as is possible between the tropics, and yet they were not free from fever."
The work of colonization began in earnest in 1858, just after the inauguration of the penitentiary. Saint-Laurent then became an agricultural penitentiary. The idea of colonizing and developing the economy of French Guiana in the manner of the English in Australia became a reality. The Saint-Laurent region became a model and several logging camps were opened, including those at Saint-Jean and Sparouine. Proud of this success, the French government decided to settle the deportees and, in 1859, the first convoy of condemned women arrived in Saint-Laurent. All were volunteers, chosen from among those most likely to return to a normal life. Soon, however, the health situation in French Guiana's prisons became catastrophic, and Napoleon III decided to suspend them. In 1867, he opted for New Caledonia. For twenty years, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni would receive no more Europeans.
In 1859, a shortage of skilled workers led to the closure of four shipyards. Only Saint-Louis and Saint-Maurice remained open. In 1878, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni became the headquarters of the penitentiary administration, before becoming a "special penitentiary commune" in 1880.

The establishment of the penal colony, birth of a commune. The Saint-Laurent penitentiary was founded in 1857. As early as 1852, M. Mélinon, one of the establishment's first commanding officers, dreamed of turning the region into a large-scale agricultural and forestry operation. The locality, then called Pointe-Bonaparte, was home to a few natives. In 1852, with the help of some forty former slaves from the Mana region, Mélinon began clearing the forest, and later obtained the services of a few dozen transported slaves to swell the ranks of his workers. On an inspection tour, the Governor of French Guiana, Admiral Laurent Baudin, decided that the future town would take the name of its patron, Saint-Laurent, as well as that of the river on which it was built, Maroni. The penitentiary, which had already been in operation for a year, was inaugurated a few years later, on February 21, 1858. In the same year, all the prison administration departments, offices, hotels for senior staff, houses for junior staff and guards, and a twelve-building hospital were installed.

On March 16, 1880, a decree made Saint-Laurent an autonomous commune. With this decree, the President of the Republic, Jules Grévy, decided to organize the penitentiary commune of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. The decree was promulgated in Cayenne on May 7 by Governor Marie-Alfred-Armand Huart, and a director of the penitentiary administration was appointed to implement it. The Maroni penitentiary territory was renamed the "commune pénitentiaire du Maroni".

Punishments. The special maritime court in Saint-Laurent judges only convicts. It is presided over by a colonial infantry captain, whose assessors include the president of the Saint-Laurent civil court and a deputy head of the prison administration office. Another officer of the same rank is the Commissaire-Rapporteur, and a military supervisor acts as clerk. It is he who, when the time comes, reads the indictment to the accused. The meagre defense of those transported is provided by the wardens and by any free person willing to take on this role. The session room is the same as the courtroom of the disciplinary commission: on the day of the session, the door is open, as the hearings are public.

Caning: the number of strokes is set by decree in Paris. The whippers, who are also convicts, have no difficulty in making the torments even more terrible, depending on the mood of the guards. The convict Maynard writes of the whip Ambarrek: "When he struck the convicts bound to the fatal bench, he would rise on tiptoe so that the whip would fall from higher up, and suddenly curling up like a wild beast, he would lower the knotted whip and pull it horizontally. This Arab was the only corrector who tore off shreds of scarlet flesh with his seven-strap whip. His face twitched, his eyes sparkled. He showed all his teeth. He was dreadful The arrival of Jules Grévy as President of the Republic put an end to corporal punishment in the early 1880s. This was followed by the creation of a special maritime court and the institution of disciplinary camps.

The guillotine: when corporal punishment was abolished, the two machines were placed in a room in the Saint-Laurent disciplinary ward. Saint-Laurent's reputation as the capital of the penal colony was enhanced by the arrival of the two guillotines. Preparations for an execution began during the night. Executioners and assistant executioners erected the machine. They performed this task in silence, so as not to wake the occupants of the two rows of benches. At dawn, the group of "key-bearers" came to collect the condemned man. He was given a last meal, rum, a liter of wine and a pack of cigarettes. After this final snack, he was taken to the registry office, where he met the warden, the prosecutor, the doctor and the chaplain. He signed the register, and was then taken to the guillotine for execution. The guillotine used for death sentences was in permanent view of the other convicts. The executioner was a volunteer convict, who enjoyed a "privileged" position (bonuses, different meals).

Camp organization. The two prison administration buildings. On the right, the infirmary, and on the left, the accommodation for the warders and "key-holders", responsible for monitoring convicts and separated from other convicts for obvious security reasons. This building now houses a library.

Another complex includes the kitchen, the small chapel and the anthropometric room, where doctors were responsible for profiling convicts and assigning them tasks according to their skill level. A little further on, you can see the remains of a latrine, a basin, a well and a pump. A large mango tree stands proudly in the middle of the courtyard.

There were also double and single huts reserved for convicts sentenced to forced labor; the "Quartier des Relégués" (generally petty criminals convicted of theft), consisting of a collective building for up to 40 convicts and 19 individual cells; the "Quartier des Libérés", detained under the same conditions as the "relégués"; the "Tribunal Maritime Spécial", responsible for judging misdemeanors and felonies committed within the Camp's walls; the "Blockhaus", with a capacity of 40 convicts, but which sometimes housed twice that number in particularly harsh conditions: hindrance for the most recalcitrant, promiscuity, lack of air and light, and spartan sanitary conditions.

The rest of the buildings are divided up as follows: the Quartier Spécial, with 12 cells reserved for convicts sentenced to death (once the sentence had been passed, convicts waited up to 4 months for it to be carried out); the Premier Quartier, with some 20 cells for convicts bound for the Salvation Islands; the Deuxième, Troisième and Quatrième Quartier were reserved for "difficult" convicts, isolated from the others by gates. Finally, cell 47 is famous for having housed Henri Charrière, known as "Papillon".

Sabi aliba means "to know the river" in Bushiningué. As you may have gathered, we're talking about the Maroni here. Martin Fania, aka "Séké", and his team will take you on a discovery tour of a part of the Maroni he knows like the back of his hand, having grown up there. Discover the Maroni and Tapanahony up to the Sacred Mountain. He can then take you as far as Maripasoula. You'll then have the privilege of stopping off at his campou (small village), where traditional songs and dances, and a warm welcome from the children, make for an unforgettable journey.

This architecture and heritage interpretation center, opened in 2015 in the Transportation camp, highlights the history of the penal colony and Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. In the various cells, interviews with Saint-Laurent residents are displayed, giving a glimpse into a bygone world: that of the prison administration. A moving historical journey through the eyes of the descendants of transporters and merchants who saw these groups of convicts in "striped pyjamas" pass by every morning. A recommended complement to a visit to the camp.

Between 1887 and 1938, more than 17,000 inmates landed in the relégation camp at Saint-Jean, 17 km from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni. On May 27, 1885, the vote on the law on the relegation of repeat offenders led to the internment of repeat offenders in the colonies for life. A distinction was then made between two types of regime: individual relegation, applicable to convicts with the financial means to support themselves and who had demonstrated exemplary conduct during their imprisonment, which authorized the relegated to work and benefit from a concession while assigning them to the colony; and collective relegation, which forced the relegated to forced labor supervised by members of the prison administration, while eventually allowing them to benefit from individual relegation.

The distinction between relegated and transported prisoners meant that they could not be interned in the same camp, which is why it was decided to create specific camps for relegated prisoners. In 1885, on the site of a former transport camp, abandoned due to insalubrity, the then Ministry built a settlers' village. Settled in four camps, the "relégués" were granted agricultural concessions and could sell their produce on the market. However, the first wooden huts built on the camp by the relegués quickly deteriorated under the Guyanese climate. The camp's insalubrious conditions led to the flight of many relégués. The authorities decided to reinforce control and sanitation by building 20 permanent huts, giving the camp the appearance of a penitentiary. The great need for manpower to rebuild the camp put an end to the system of individual relegation. The vast majority of those relegated were then assigned to forced labor in conditions akin to transport camps. The relegation camp was abandoned in 1943, and the French army moved in in 1961.

The volunteer association Meki Wi Libi Na Wan offers guided tours of this exceptional site, located 17 km from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, as well as of the surrounding village. Passionate, responsive guides will explain how the village of Saint-Jean was created and became the capital of the Relégation. The organization of the camp, the regime of relegation and the daily life of these "undesirables" will no longer hold any secrets for you. To organize your visit with the association, visit the Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni Tourist Office.

Located on the Esplanade, next to the pontoon, in a pretty pink and blue building, the office will answer all your questions. Professionalism and a smile are our motto! Information on accommodation, restaurants and leisure activities, as well as administrative, cultural and historical information about Saint-Laurent and the region. High-quality, original temporary exhibitions and boutique (crafts, books and postcards). Bicycle rental.

Beautiful local handicrafts are on sale. You can book a night in the adjoining municipal carbet.

Upstream from the falls, a trail leads to the Vieux Broussard falls, also known as the second Voltaires falls, which take around 2h30 to complete. The unsecured trail requires good physical condition and the ability to find your way through the forest. The falls are beautiful, rising 41 m above sea level. While the site is magnificent, the pools at Vieux Broussard can be dangerous: stay vigilant and keep an eye on young children when swimming!

In the days of the penal colony, epidemics were commonplace due to the poor sanitary conditions and promiscuity of the prisoners. To curb the spread of epidemics such as leprosy, the speed of which was increased tenfold by the tropical climate, it was decided that convicts who contracted the disease would be quarantined on this islet, immortalized in the film Papillon (1973). Today, there are no facilities left to visit, but it has become a pleasant spot, particularly for picnicking, as a carbet has been installed for this purpose.

The falls Voltaire - with a drop of 45 m spread over a length of 200 m - have a flow that varies according to the season and are a particularly popular site in French Guiana: it's best to enquire in advance at the Auberge about available places.

How to get there. From Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, at the traffic circle, follow the road between the stadium and the cemetery towards Saint-Jean (D11). After about 2.5 km on the Saint-Jean road, turn left at the large bend: you'll come to Lac Bleu. Turn right at the sign. Continue on route Paul-Isnard. You'll pass the rum distillery (on your right). The road will be asphalted for 10 km, before giving way to laterite as the track enters the forest. If you fancy a picnic, you can stop off at PK 27.5 at Tatou Creek. Pass the slaughterhouses that line the first few kilometers, and the sawmill at PK 32. You'll also pass a checkpoint. At around PK 46, you'll come to two tracks. Take the one on the right. At PK 67, you pass the Apatou crossroads, where you cross a camp (straight ahead). At PK 70, you'll come to the parking lot (an open area) of the Auberge Voltaire, where you can leave your car. 300 m further on, you'll find an information panel at the entrance to the ONF-marked trail. The path is on the left after passing the creek, where a bridge has collapsed. The trail to the falls winds for around 3.3 km (approx. 1.5 hrs walk) along Voltaire Creek.

Departing from the Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni tourist office, Chuity Liba offers excursions of various lengths, from a 3-hour walk around the town to a day trip to Apatou (upstream on the Maroni River), not forgetting the classic half-day trip on the Maroni, including several stops in the Amerindian and black maroon villages along its banks. Don't hesitate to give them a call for more information and to find out what's on the agenda for future outings. A friendly, serious team.

Tatou Cove is a place to relax and swim in the middle of the forest, with three carbets for picnics and board games. In the immediate vicinity of the site, there's a 2.5 km trail for walkers. Those wishing to spend the night should bring a tarpaulin in case of rain, as there are no sleeping carbets. In the rainy season, the trail is inaccessible (if you're not sure about the condition of the trail, check with the Saint-Laurent tourist office). A good stopover before Voltaire Falls!

On the banks of the river, surrounded by a formal garden, the customs collector's house has been a listed historic building since 2016. Over 150 years ago, this wood-and-brick building housed the chief medical officer of the Saint-Laurent penal colony. Strategically placed opposite the landing stage for prison ships and close to the governor's residence, it is assumed that the house was handed over to the customs administration in 1946 when the prison closed its doors.

This old building, erected between 1883 and 1885 by a convict in the heart of the town, was first a postcard store, then a gold panning equipment store and finally a hotel. At the end of the ^19th century, two former convicts founded Pérez & Lévy, a hardware store selling fabric, stamps and firearms. In 1953, the Barcarel family acquired the building and inaugurated a small but very popular hotel. Now closed, the relais Barcarel boasts remarkable architecture, combining timber framing and exposed brickwork.

At the NGO's premises on rue Simon in the Chinese village, you'll discover a Tembé museum (traditional art of the Maroni people), featuring around a hundred works by local artists, as well as a phytotheque for recognizing over 100 traditional plants. Founded more than 20 years ago, this cultural center also works to transmit the cultures of the Maroon people: popular arts and traditions, traditional pharmacopoeia and therapies, customs and sustainable development.

One of the most dynamic tourist offices in French Guiana. On foot, by pirogue, kayak or bicycle, reach magical places like Sunset Beach or the Gobaya Soula waterfalls (20 minutes by pirogue and an hour's walk). Walk along the trails of the abattis, the sands of New Wacapou, experience a sunset over the magnificent Maroni River... To be organized with efficient and friendly interlocutors. Sale of local crafts, bike rental, guided city tour.